Let yourself be happy
by Rose-Aki
Summary: When Kakashi hears Anko speak lightly about herself he decides to make her see how truly special she is to him. Kakashi/Anko
1. Compliments

A/N: I know I should work on my other story 'They way they see us' but this came to my mind and I had to write it. Hopefully all of you will like it :)

* * *

The world seemed at peace and silence settled over Konoha. It was the time the day slowly faded and night took its place when a young kunoichi could be seen sitting on her window sill.

The silence was calm, but Anko herself wasn't, her mind replayed her past over and over again. It had been years since she came back to Konoha and people began to trust her again, but her past was still haunting her.

Even thought she had friends now, namely Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma, she still felt lonely. Of course the three knew about her past, but not from herself but because it was almost common knowledge under the jonin. It wasn't that she didn't trust them or anything, but she wanted to deal with her past alone.

The betrayal of her sensei was still fresh on her mind and heavy on her heart, so any relationships with people were difficult for her. That however didn't mean that she didn't wish for it to different. Even thought she wasn't the girl to dream of a prince charming someone to be with would be nice.

A sad look entered her eyes and she pulled her legs closer to her chest to rest her chin on her knees. A dry laugh left her lips.

"Who would want someone like me anyway?"

"By the look almost every man gives you when you walk around in that attire of yours a lot."

"Sure for physical pleasure they think I am good enough, I know."

Only after saying that she realized the voice answering her wasn't in her head. Shocked she turned around to see him of all people standing there. Kakashi had watched her for a few minutes and when she had asked herself this question out loud he had answered without thinking, thereby revealing his presence. He could practically see her walls coming back up again when her sad expression turned into a grin.

"Kakashi a late night visit? How have I earned this honor?"

"It's not that late. I should pick you up because the Hokage wants to see us."

"Okay, I will be down in no time." With that she closed the window and went inside.

Kakashi sighed deeply. The look in her eyes haunted him already. She had looked so sad, almost like the weight of the world lay on her shoulders. The moment she had realized she wasn't alone she had blocked him out of her feelings and that hurt him more than he would like to admit. The truth was that she was special to him. With her unique way and strong personality she had won his heart over, not that she knew that. That was the reason why hearing her speak lightly of herself pulled at his heart strings. Of course men looked after her because of her attire, but some would be interested in more than her look, someone like him. Maybe one day he could tell her, but he doubted she would feel the same.

"I am ready, let's go." Anko announced her arrival and pulled him from his thoughts.

After a few steps in silence she felt the need to get things straight.

"Just to make sure, you never heard any of what I said. Understood?"

"Under one condition. You tell me if what you said is really what you think."

"You mean about how men see me?" Anko asked truly amused.

"Yeah."

"Well yes. The are surely not looking at me for my eyes."

"That's a shame because they are beautiful." That had slipped out before he could stop himself. His only hope was that she hadn't heard him, but that was crushed when he saw her shocked expression.

"What did you say?"

"I said I like your eyes."

A warm feeling she never felt before spread through Anko, but it wasn't uncomfortable, quiet the opposite.

"No one ever gave me that compliment or a compliment at all for that matter." She whispered more to herself than to the shinobi next to her, but he still heard her.

"That's a shame too, because there is so much more to compliment you on." Seeing her skeptical look he knew what she was thinking. "I mean not only your body, although that's a reason for compliments, but your personality. I never met someone like you Anko and thought we know each other for some time now you renew the things I can compliment you on every day."

Anko was speechless and for the first time in her life she felt herself blush. Never had she thought Kakashi would think like this about her.

"Thanks." Came her uncharacteristic shy reply.

Looking at her Kakashi saw her blush and that she was shyly facing the ground. It wasn't like her at all, but giving compliments wasn't like him as well.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review and tell me if I should continue this story :)


	2. Not a weakness

A/N: First of all thanks to soyukiteru67, Jleath1234, KMriver, anko mitarashi 1985 and anonymous for reviewing the last chapter. I hope all of you enjoy the new one :)

* * *

The rest of the way to the Hokage Tower was spend in silence.

"Anko, Kakashi thank you for coming this quickly. I have a mission for you." The Hokage greeted them.

After Tsunade explained the details of their mission the two shinobi left Konoha.

By now night had fallen and since the start of the mission they had been traveling none stop. Suddenly Anko felt like a kunai had been stuck between her neck and shoulder. Her Juin. A few incoherent memories entered her mind and the pain intensified. She clenched the hurting spot desperately. Why now? Why in front of him of all people? She didn't want to appear weak, especially not in front of him. The only solution was to deal with the pain so he wouldn't notice.

A few minutes she could keep that up, but then her body didn't obey her anymore and she missed a branch. She could absorb her fall by landing on her hands and knees, but her body was shaking uncontrollably. The voice of Kakashi was far away and she couldn't understand what he was saying, while she fought against the black spots in front of her eyes.

Kakashi was more than worried. One moment she was jumping right next to him and then out of nowhere she hit the ground. When he knelt down next to her she didn't even seemed to hear him calling out to her and she was shaking fiercely. Softly he pulled her trench coat to the side to reveal her Juin. It was glowing an angry red and when he touched it, it almost burned his fingers. He could only imagine how much it must hurt her. There was only one way he could help her, so he made a few hand signs and lay his hands on her Juin. He wouldn't seal it without her consent, but he would lessen her pain.

A faint cry of pain was heard from Anko before her shaking stopped. She was panting hard and her body was still weak from exhaustion, that much he could tell, but at least the burning sensation seemed to be gone.

"I am sorry you had to witness this. It's not appropriate for a shinobi to show the weakness I just displayed. We can continue with our mission now."

That was the first thing she said after she got her breath back. Kakashi could only stare at the woman in front of him. She couldn't be serious. However he was proven otherwise when she stood up on shaky legs. Next to the shock he felt he was amazed by the kunoichi. Anko still wanted to continue their mission despite being in a lot of pain. Her loyalty to Konoha and her strong will made him want to protect her even more. However right now he had to protect her from hurting herself by pushing her weakened body.

"You aren't going anywhere."

"But Tsunade needs us to complete this mission and I am not-"

Before she could argue more her legs gave out under her and before losing consciousness she prepared herself to meet the ground again, but Kakashi caught her just in time.

The jonin held her bridal style and leaped up on a tree with her still secure in his arms. From here he could keep their surroundings in check if enemies would take the opportunity to attack. After a quick overview he sat down and gently lay Anko's head in his lap. Softly he touched her forehead only to realized that she had a high fever. Grasping a cloth from his backpack he soaked it with the water he had with him.

Anko's eyes fluttered open when she felt a cold sensation on her forehead. Her eyes meet Kakashi's for a second before she looked away ashamed.

"You don't have to do this. Just leave me here and finish the mission. I will be alright."

Ignoring her protest he realized something about what she had said.

"This isn't the first time this happened." It was more a statement than a question. When he was met with silence he continued. "How many times?"

"A few." Came her soft answer.

"Have you told Tsunade or Shizune about it?"

"No, it never happened on missions so no one knows about it." Her words were only a whisper now.

"Why? They could help you."

"They would think I'm weak and call me off duty. I worked so hard to be trusted with missions and I am not risking that because of this little pain."

"Little pain? Your body couldn't move and now you have a high fever." Kakashi was shocked to say the least. What if enemies found her in such a state? Sure her reasoning was understandable, but she was risking her life.

"Normally I just pass out for a few hours and when I wake up again the fever has lessen enough for me to go on missions."

The way she told it so casually was frightening. Had no one seen how much she suffered? This woman was so strong and risked her life for her country without thinking twice about it. How could anybody not fall for this kunoichi?

"We are going to stay here for the night and you will rest." When he saw that she was about to protest he stopped her. "No discussions. We both know that you are in no condition to fight with me."

Anko sighed defeated before looking seriously at Kakashi.

"Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because you are important to me and I care about you." He saw her eyes close slowly and a small smile appeared on her lips. Being sure she was asleep by now and couldn't hear him he added. "More than you know."

Little did he know, that Anko only fell asleep a few seconds after his confession.

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)


	3. Let yourself be happy

A/N: First of all thanks to KittyKati1, Jleath1234 and KMriver for reviewing the second chapter. This one is the final chapter and I hope all of you like it :)

* * *

When Anko woke up she felt warm and protected. That confused her because this wasn't how she normally felt when she regained consciousness. Most of the time she felt cold and alone or nightmares left her exhausted after waking up.

Slowly the kunoichi opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. The moment her eyes landed on Kakashi she remembered what happened yesterday. A blush covered her cheeks when she realized that she had slept here in the tree with him. Their close proximity made her heart beat faster in her chest and all she could think about was him.

Being so close to Anko Kakashi felt her stiffen, so he slowly opened his visible eye only to find her looking at him. They were so close to each other that he was tempted to just kiss her. His eye wandered to her lips and he unconsciously moved in.

Anko's eyes widened when she saw what he was about to do. So it wasn't just her imagination what he had told her before she fell asleep. Was he really willing to be with her? A sad smile graced her lips. She couldn't let him ruin his life for her. She knew if they were together people would look down on him for it. He was too important to her to let this happen, so she pulled away before their lips could meet and looked in the opposite direction.

"We should continue with the mission."

To say Kakashi was disappointed would be an understatement. For a moment he had thought she felt the same way, but then her whole attitude changed. What had happened? Kakashi sighed deeply and leaped from the tree they spend the night on.

A few hours later they arrived at their destination. The meeting went by uneventful, but then their client seemed to notice something about Anko.

"Excuse me for asking, but weren't you Orochimaru's student a few years back?"

The kunoichi flinched. That was exactly why she couldn't be with Kakashi. Every time she thought people had forgotten about her past somehow it came back to haunt her.

"Yes, but that's in the past. A mistake I will never make again." On the outside she was calm, but Kakashi could see how tense she was and the way she clenched her fists under the table told him about her suppressed anger.

Suddenly it all made sense to him: the way she spoke so lowly of herself the other day, why she pulled away when he was about to kiss her and why she so suddenly distanced herself from him. He had to confront her about it. If it was really like he thought it was, his feelings weren't unrequited.

The moment they were alone back in the woods on their way to Konoha he cornered her, metaphorical and physical. When they stopped their travel for a moment he pushed her lightly against a tree and pinned her wrists above her head, so she couldn't hid from his knowing eyes. If it weren't for the surprise of the attack Anko surely wouldn't have been so easy to corner, but now that she realized what happened she wouldn't have any of it.

"Kakashi what the hell are you do-"

"What do you feel for me?" He interrupted her casually.

She gaped lightly and stopped fighting Kakashi's grip on her wrists. The small sound that left her mouth called Kakashi's attention to her lips and he moved in while still looking into her eyes. He wanted to see how she would react.

"Kakashi you really don't want to do that." She whispered in a last attempt to stop him.

"Don't try to hid your feelings. Let yourself be happy for once." Anko's eyes widened before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

With a small smile on her lips she relaxed completely. He was really willing to be with her and accept her without being afraid for his reputation. In that moment she knew she could trust him with her heart.

The moment their lips met a lone tear left Anko's eyes. She would let herself be happy with him.

'Thank you Kakashi.'

* * *

A/N: I don't know if I'll write another Anko and Kakashi story, but thanks for reading this one and please tell me what you think :)


End file.
